1988 Bochum Production/Musical Numbers
The original German production was very closely related to the Japan/Australia Tour, but translated into German. The show was first updated around 1992, then in 2002, 2007/2008, 2013, and 2018. 1988 Orchestra The Orchestra consisted of: # Musical Director / Conductor # Assistant MD / Conductor # Keyboards I # Keyboards II # Keyboards III # Trumpet I # Trumpet II # Trumpet III # Clarinet/Sax/Flute # Picc/Flute/Sax # Sax/Flute/Clarinet # Trombone I # Trombone II # Horn # Guitar I # Guitar II # Bass # Drums # Percussion Also the vocals were supported by six Booth Singers. 1992 Four years after the show opened in Germany, minor updates were introduced: Parade and Hymne were replaced with a version of The Rap; the National Engines did not appear at the start of the show and a few other minor updates. 2002 in 2002, after the closure of the London production, new material from the 1992 "New Starlight Express" was added to the German show: Crazy appeared before Hilf mir verstehn, and Allein im Licht der Sterne replaced Du Allein as the 11th Hour love song; however the reprise of "Du Allein" before the finale was kept. The Finale was also updated to a new version of The Megamix. The orchestra remained at 17 musicians excluding the Musical Director, plus the addition of a Programming role for the new technology. 2007 The Bochum production received several updates to bring it in line with the UK Tour - Hip Hoppers, Traxes, and a smaller band. The Coaches' introduction A Lotta Locomotion remained, with updated choreography. Caboose's solo "Dein Freund" was shortened. Orchestra Following the lead of the UK Tour which relied heavily on pre-recorded music, the Bochum production trimmed the live orchestra from 18 performers to 10, including the Programmer. This reduced band did not rely on the pre-recorded material as the tour did, and the vast majority of the show was performed live, resulting in a notably thinner sound. # Keyboard I # Keyboard II # Trumpet # Sax/Clarinet/Picc/Flute # Trombone # Guitar I # Guitar II # Bass # Drums # Programmer 2008 The show's 20th Anniversary. Further updates included re-writing minor scenes like "Nennt mich rostig" to import material from the UK Tour, which was in turn lifted from the "New Starlight Express" London updates. The orchestral overture was replaced by "Entry of the National Engines" at the top of the show, rather than immediately before AC/DC. Pearl gained Dann pfeift er mir zu - a dreamy solo as soon as she's introduced. As the "New Starlight Express" was written without Caboose, his role became somewhat fractured. His solo "Dein Freund" was cut, reducing the two-faced character to a simpler villain. This also removed the material where Dinah complained about Greaseball cheating in the race, and him dumping her. Caboose's other number, "Mein Spiel" was also shortened, with little concern for the plot. However since this number was cut entirely from the tour, a shortened version at least allowed him some room for character development. The original plot for Race 3 had Caboose crash and injure Rusty on Greaseball's orders. The "New Starlight Express", lacking Caboose, had the Gang beat up Rusty to injure him. This version of the show added the scene from London where Gang beat up Rusty between Caboose injuring him, and Caboose gloating about the damage he caused, to maximise Rusty's suffering. Another import from the tour was the love song Nur mit ihm - a new arrangement of Only He / Only You. This uses the melody that we hear in the Starlight Sequence - which is a medley of Rusty's "Starlight Express" quest for confidence, and the "Only You" melody which is the Starlight Express' answer. Pearl singing the same melody as she finds her answer - that Rusty is the one she's looking for - is deeply symbolic and ties the whole show together musically. However, the tour version of Only He was sung by a performer who had not been required to race live - in the German show, Pearl had the duration of "One Rock & Roll Too Many" to catch her breath before belting the big solo. 2013 For the show's 25th Anniversary, the show received more updates imported from the UK Tour. This included re-orchestrating the show to cater to the smaller band and to take advantage of modern technology, resulting in a much better, rich and contemporary sound. A full recording was produced. The original orchestral Overture was replaced, with sweeping repeats of the title "Starlight Express" melody and mysterious skating figures appearing throughout the theatre. The Coaches' introduction was changed from the poppy "A Lotta Locomotion" to "Nie Genug - more in the style of "Pussycat Dolls" than the previous number. This created a more jarring mood change to go into the slow, dreamy "Dann pfeift er mir zu" but clearly framed Pearl as the only female character of importance. This melody is reprised as the introduction to the new Love song, "Für Immer", imported from the UK tour, and written by Andrew Lloyd Webber's son, Alistair Lloyd Webber. 2018 The production's 30th annuversary saw the show considerably rewritten, particularly in the first quarter. One of the most controversial and unpopular elements of the workshop was included - Control breaks into the Overture crying "Stop that boring music!" to introduce the National Engines. The Overture consists of the same musical arrangement as the introduction to the "Starlight Sequence", and as such is one of the key musical themes in the show; to have Control dismiss this beautiful music as "boring" is jarring and alienating. "Crazy" is now Rusty's introduction, and the story-telling concerning Pearl and Rusty's relationship has been tightened. The Coaches have a new song, "I Got Me", which is a girl-power anthem developed from a theme taken from "Rolling Stock". Certain elements of the previous version of the show continue, such as the love-song "I Do". Every contender (with the excemption of Mama and Dustin singing what resembles I Got Me) introduce themselves before a race with the first lines of No Comeback, partially returning the old number from the 1984 London production, but not entirely. Wide Smile becomes restored to the original 1984 London production with the newer intro to it. Orchestra The brass players have been cut, and replaced by a third keyboard. # Keyboard 1 # Keyboard 2 # Keyboard 3 # Guitar 1 # Guitar 2 # Bass # Drums Category:Bochum Category:Songs